Russian Church expresses ‘unequivocal protest’ over desecration of Orthodox shrines in Turkey

The categorical protest of the Russian Church for the desecration of Orthodox shrines in Turkey is expressed in a statement by the head of the Department of Foreign Ecclesiastical Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion, noting the certainty that the Russians The Turkish leadership will deal with this “outrageous incident”.

Religious peace is now re-emerging in Turkey, according to the Russian Church’s foreign affairs official, as “at the main historical shrine of the Greeks of Pontus, at the monastery of Panagia Soumela in Trabzon, local authorities allowed a music and dance event.” “It is said that this was done to attract tourists. I am convinced that Russian tourists, who are in the majority in Turkey, would never approve of such a cynical sacrilege of a Christian sanctuary. In Russia this treatment of a temple or mosque leads to the punishment of “It is gratifying to see that at least representatives of the local population and tourism businesses are protesting against the incident,” notes Metropolitan Hilarionas in his comment.

“The Russian Orthodox Church has done much to make this once-glorious monastery accessible to pilgrims and to annual liturgies. We strongly protest the desecration of Orthodox shrines in Turkey. “It will not turn a blind eye to this outrageous incident,” said a statement from the Moscow Patriarchate, who said and essentially the exclusion of Christians from the majestic church of Hagia Sophia and the famous for the mosaics of the monastery of Chora in Constantinople “.

“As museums, these sanctuaries were a place of universal worship and a symbol of mutual respect and understanding of the two world religions. Now these pan-Christian sanctuaries are now inaccessible to Christians,” said the metropolitan.

Source: AMPE